Arthur Van Zyl

Experience

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  Enhanced Systems

  Mar 1993 - May 1994

  Senior Technician / Junior Systems Administrator

  I was placed at Hollard Insurance in Johannesburg as an on site Senior Technician. I was then promoted to on site Technical Manager, where I was in charge of 6 engineers and performed the following duties:- The implementation of new systems- Help desk management- Support of over 650 Users on 8 floors- Management of Hollard’s backups.Following this, I was moved into a Junior Systems Administrator role, where I worked closely with 3 other System Administrators.I was placed in charge of maintenance of network servers. (NT 3.51; NT 4.0)This included the following :- The installation of new network printers- Management of users on the network server- Security on these servers- Installation of back office products- 24 Hour stand byReason for Leaving : Was offered a position at a multimedia company and back then multi media was a very active market. Show less

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  Multimedia Warehouse (MMW Tech.)

  Jun 1995 - Feb 1996

  Technical Manager / Product Manager

  My duties involved being responsible for all activities taking place in the workshop. I held the post of Technical Manager and supervised 4 engineers, giving hi-level product support. I was also in charge of the WAN and installed and implemented a new network that included fiber optic LAN solution.I then moved to Product Manager, with a portfolio comprising of over 15 products. My new duties included liaison with our overseas suppliers for new stock, keeping record of the amount of stock needed and the ordering of stock for all our branches in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.In addition, I was responsible for the giving of product demonstrations.Reason for Leaving : I wanted to get more exposure to the dB and programing world. Was offered position at Realtime Computer in Midrand, JHB Show less

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  Realtime Computer Services

  Mar 1996 - Sept 1998

  Pre-Sales / System Administrator

  I was employed as pre sales support Engineer and was responsible for the setting up of demonstrations of Progress products for potential clients. In addition, I was also responsible for the installation of Progress in South and Southern Africa -Rest of AfricaI was also the System administrator of both the LAN and WAN.I was also involved with an e-commerce product from Progress, known as WebSpeed, to develop Internet transactions against the Progress Database.Development work on Progress 4GL.Web Development.Reason for Leaving : Progress Software moved in directly with the company and I was offer a retrenchment offering. I was also offered a position in Pretoria with one of the biggest clients of Realtime. Show less

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  QBCON

  Oct 1998 - Jan 2000

  Technical Manger

  Technical Manger for local and on site Engineers Marketing of Technical Services such as:Technical Auditor: Information Systems Personnel IssuesInformation Systems EffectivenessProceduresDocumentationTechnical SupportData Centre Scheduling Office SystemsSystem BottlenecksPlanned Changes to Information SystemsSoftware Review ProcessVendor Sales and Support QuestionnaireOrganizational Issues (IT related).Security Policies and ProceduresSecurity Audits to ensure the safety of mission critical data.WAN and LAN support R&DAccount Manager for our Account at our ISP, Internet Solutions.Administration on Unix and Linux ServersTraining of junior technicians.Software purchase Manager for both our clients and our internal needs.Acting Technical DirectorReason for Leaving : I had some exposure to the financial markets and it looked like a very exciting area to be in. I wanted more exposure to the financial markets. Show less

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  Inet Bridge

  Feb 2000 - Jun 2002

  Technical Account Manager

  Planning and implementation of new Diginet lines.Planning of new networks for new clients.Firewall implementationDocumentation of new servicesPolicy and procedure planning Security Policies and ProceduresSystem BottlenecksPlanned Changes to Information SystemsSoftware Review ProcessVendor Sales and Support QuestionnaireOrganizational Issues (IT related)Technical SupportITIL Service Lifecycle. Providing guidance on clarification and prioritization of service-provider investments in services.Service Strategy helping IT organizations improve and develop over the long term. Key topics covered include service value definition, business-case development, service assets, market analysis, and service provider types.-Service Catalogue Management-Service Level Management-Risk Management-Capacity Management-Availability Management-IT Service Continuity Management-Information Security Management-Compliance Management-IT Architecture Management-Supplier ManagementLiaising with other project leaders to ensure proper implementation and the swift solution of any problems encountered.Reason for Leaving: My family moved to Cape Town and I wanted to be closer to them. Show less

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  Forwardslash

  Jul 2002 - Jul 2004

  Snr Manager IT

  Operational functions - aligning team's goals with that of the company's strategic vision.Ensuring implementation and maintenance of systems to assist the company in reaching their goals. Relationship building with partners. Providing technical direction and support to staff and peers Research on new technologies from around the world.ProcurementNegotiating SLA's Ensuring industry standards for best practices are implemented EG. (ITIL). - Reviewing existing services- Negotiating with the Customers- Reviewing the underpinning contacts of 3rd party service providers- Producing and monitoring the Service Level Agreement (SLA)- Implementation of Service Improvement policy and processes- Establishing priorities- Planning for service growth- Involvement in the Accounting process to cost services and recover these costsSupport from an HR point of view to staff such as goal setting, Performance appraisals, career planning. Project Management of major IT Projects. Management reports on monthly basis, or as needed. Close dealings with Senior Managers to ensure that support is given from an IT perspective to fulfill their rolls in the organization. Licensing of Microsoft and non-Microsoft products. Part of project team from technology point of view with the focus on security, network design, VOIP, smart building concepts. ManagementReason for Leaving : My reason for leaving was purely on the basis that I needed a break from two years of long hours and crazy hours. I felt that I wanted to work normal working hours. We were active for 24x7x365 Show less

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  Clickatell

  Jul 2005 - Mar 2007

  Development Manager

  Management of Development Team (16 members). In Technologies (PHP and C with MYSQL) Hi Volume transactional based messaging platform with Front end API's and core messaging platforms. Responsible for Management of IT team (4 members). Responsible for delivering on market requirements form Engineering point of view. Management of Global Responsibility Q&A Team. Develop and execute unit test suites for applications. Responsible for QA and Documentation. (ISO 9001:2000) On Board of our Architecture Committee. Full management of Teams Responsible for Core Engine Development, Application Development and sustainable Development. Part of Operation Committee. Reporting to CTO bases in Redshores, San Francisco California, USA. Close workings with Marketing and Financial Teams for development requirements Responsible for Process implementations (ITIL)- Reviewing existing services- Negotiating with the Customers- Reviewing the underpinning contacts of 3rd party service providers- Producing and monitoring the Service Level Agreement (SLA)- Implementation of Service Improvement policy and processes- Establishing priorities- Planning for service growth- Involvement in the Accounting process to cost services and recover these costsReason for Leaving: Company moved loads of the rolls to the US as their funding was done form there. Was offered position at E-Cash Show less

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  E-Cash

  Apr 2007 - May 2010

  CTO - E-Cash

  CTO of E-Cash SolutionsReporting to BoardGlobal Strategic directionManagement of BudgetResponsible for Process implementations (ITIL)- Reviewing existing services- Negotiating with the Customers- Reviewing the underpinning contacts of 3rd party service providers- Producing and monitoring the Service Level Agreement (SLA)- Implementation of Service Improvement policy and processes- Establishing priorities- Planning for service growth- Involvement in the Accounting process to cost services and recover these costsDefine and grow technological infrastructureAlign all technological changes with Business Strategy Management of 3 Department Managers – Operational – Quality Assurance and DevelopmentStrategic Decision MakingManagement of Project – High level - Scrum/ AgileReason for Leaving: Working as CTO for 3 internal companies was exciting, however I felt that I was not getting the results for the work being put in. Completion of projects. Show less

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  Minerva Data LTD

  Apr 2007 - May 2010

  CTO

  CTO of E-Cash SolutionsReporting to BoardGlobal Strategic directionManagement of BudgetDefine and grow technological infrastructureAlign all technological changes with Business Strategy Management of 3 Department Managers – Operational – Quality Assurance and DevelopmentStrategic Decision MakingManagement of Project – High level - Scrum/ AgileReason for Leaving: Working as CTO for 3 internal companies was exciting, however I felt that I was not getting the results for the work being put in. Completion of projects. Show less

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  Walpay

  Apr 2007 - May 2010

  CTO

  CTO of E-Cash SolutionsReporting to BoardGlobal Strategic directionManagement of BudgetDefine and grow technological infrastructureAlign all technological changes with Business Strategy Management of 3 Department Managers – Operational – Quality Assurance and DevelopmentStrategic Decision MakingManagement of Project – High level - Scrum/ AgileReason for Leaving: Working as CTO for 3 internal companies was exciting, however I felt that I was not getting the results for the work being put in. Completion of projects. Show less

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  Symbiosys

  Jul 2010 - Jan 2012

  Contractor - Project Manager - Delivery Management - Symbiosys

  Contract - Symbiosys applies its skill and experience to develop and deliver Information Technology solutions in consultation with customers, to meet their business requirements and overcome operational challenges. In addition, our consultants provide specialist knowledge of products offered by Microsoft and Apple Computer (Enterprise) and other world class brands to enable them to build operational efficiency and gain business benefits. Project and service delivery management for : EngenOld Mutual - OMPCapitec bankUWCPick & Pay MediclinicSanlamTecnol Oil - Angola Successful projects:End user migration Exchange 2003 to 2010 - 2000 usersMigration mail and AD environment - PetroSA 1200 usersExchange Migration - Capitec BankAD Deployment - UWCTMG (Forefront Threat Management Gateway 2010) - Medi ClinicTecnol Oil Angola - Active directory and Exchange Migration. - AngolaTecnol Oil Angola - Distribuidora - Active directory and Exchange Migration. 1600 Users - AngolaWSUS - MediclinicGlobal Active Directory deployment - MediclinicExchange Migration SAB 2 x Lotus Notes Migrations to Exchange 2010 - Sanlam - Dimention Data - 2000 users Show less

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  Trader24.com

  Apr 2013 - Sept 2013

  Senior Operations Manager - Contract

  Responsible for the consistent delivery of IT-Ops Services and the provisioning of Level III support.Define service levels and implement tools to measure and report against performance.Project Management - Ensure that the IT-Ops project portfolio is properly prioritized, resourced and achievable.Process Development and Automation – Work with IT staff and vendors to record and automate existing processes and recommend improvements.Coach/mentor team members as necessary. Align team member roles and strengths.Collaborate with stakeholders and IT Teams to deploy and manage technology components.Manage deployment of Cloud based Systems.Manage vendor partnerships.ITIL Problem Management.Serve as a technical lead for our server infrastructure, including development; QA, staging, and production.Ensure the proper release and maintenance of all systems.Manage provisioning activities of development and production servers.Recommend and implement technical operations best practices.Work within Engineering and across organizations to influence overall cloud manageability strategy and assess feasibility of new requirements.Automate repeatable tasks where possible.Quickly troubleshoot and resolve issues.Improve the operational systems, processes and policies in support of organizations mission -- specifically.Manage and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Support Services (HR, IT and Finance), through improvements to each function as well as coordination and communication between support and business functions.Play a significant role in long-term planning, including an initiative geared toward operational excellence.Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Support Services through improvements to each function (HR, IT, Finance) as well as coordination and communication between functions.Drive initiatives in the management team and organisationally that contribute to long-term operational excellence. Show less

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  Dimension Data

  Apr 2013 - Jan 2013

  Contract Project Manager

  Contracting to the ITC sector for the accomplishment of project objectives by planning and evaluating project activities.•Act as corporate citizen •Act as leader in required situations •Define and manage project scope •Demonstrate an understanding of required methodologies •Ensure client satisfaction •Manage project communication and documentation •Manage project finances •Monitor and control a project •Plan and develop project schedule Role as Project manager:•Builds client relationships and networking, ensuring results are achieved and clients expectations are met•Demonstrates high ethics and adherence to business values •Demonstrates personal motivation and a positive attitude •Develops individuals into a team •Establishes alliances with vendors, clients and teams •Establish and maintain interpersonal relationships across a broad range of personality types •Builds client relationships and networking, ensuring results are achieved and clients expectations are met•Demonstrates high ethics and adherence to business values •Demonstrates personal motivation and a positive attitude •Develops individuals into a team •Establishes alliances with vendors, clients and teams •Establish and maintain interpersonal relationships across a broad range of personality types •Analyses and solves problems •Develops project scope at definition stage •Develops project scope at proposal stage •Establishes tasks and task duration for solution delivery•Gathers requirements information •Identifies and estimates project requirements•Manages high-level requirements engineering process and deliverables •Manages scope and scope changes•Obtains client sign-off for requirements and delivered solution full professional•Validates solution delivery in accordance with requirementsProject delivery management for:Engen OilBritish American Tobacco - South Africa (BATSA)Old Mutual South AfricaSkandia (UK - Isle of Man - France - Italia - India)SanlamSantam Show less

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  AFB.com

  Oct 2013 - Aug 2014

  IT Operations Manager

  Management of the specialist teams within operations, including infrastructure & networking, systems admin, security & other compliance services, database & operational admin, application support & service desk.Actions & plans to ensure definition and achievement of SLAs.Define operations architecture.Operational capacity & scalability planning.Disaster recovery, business continuity plans & tests.Industry compliance.Ensures IT process & systems management by setting & enforcing all necessary controls to deliver operational service.Manage all research & development activities & process to implement new technologies.Set & enforce standards to ensure production stability & business requirements & maintain the architecture framework & ensure alignment to business & technology strategies.Negotiate contracts & commercials for projects & long term outsource agreements & manage suppliers against commercials & service delivery obligations.Ensure appropriate compliance with legislation such as PCI DSS, Data Privacy, etc.Maximise system uptime.Define technology production operations policies & standard operating procedures.Engage with solutions planning & architecture teams to design & plan for sufficient production operations capabilities.Define & publish routine maintenance schedules for the data centre, networks & telephony.Plan retirement of infrastructure & feedback into the IT planning team.Capacity planning in collaboration with architecture & portfolio management leads.Identify security requirements & address threats.Manage the day to day activities of support staff (in-sourced or out-sourced).Plan & manage all production security measures for technology.Develop & test disaster recovery & business continuity plans.Develop & share actionable insight into system utilisation & capacity to identify bottlenecks & opportunities.Plan & design the production technology architecture in collaboration with Systems Development Manager. Show less

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  Jumo.world

  Sept 2014 - Oct 2016

  Senior Infrastructure Architect
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  Aculocity

  Nov 2016 - Sept 2018

  Cloud Architect

  Oversee cloud strategy, evaluate on premise vs cloud options and oversee migrationsEssential duties and responsibilities include:Working with Global Teams based in Chicago and Estern Europe - MoldovaOversee cloud strategy, evaluate on premise vs cloud options, plan and oversee migrations on Azure and AWS.Engage with software architects across product development teams, mentor and prototype concepts for modernisation of new and existing applications.Drive the dialog around building highly scalable, service oriented application platforms.Develop process improvements, analytical frameworks, share expertise with others, mentor and continually strive to improve overall contributions.Do cost benefit analysis and reporting on the implementation of Cloud architectures, meeting client requirements.Supervise design throughout implementation process.Cloud and service vendor management.Develop and manage Devops approaches and best practice.Assist legal, compliance and security teams with technical and contractual reviews.Technologies:AWS:Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) AWS Elastic BeanstalkAmazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3)Amazon GlacierAmazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC)Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS)Amazon RedshiftAmazon CloudFrontAmazon Route 53AWS Direct Connect Elastic Load BalancingAWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)Azure:Virtual MachinesApp ServicesIaaSPaaSSaaSVPN GatewaysLoad BalancesApplication GatewaysCDNAzure Active DirectorySQL DatabasesSQL EDWRedis CacheStorage - BLOB Show less

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  Capitec Bank

  Sept 2018 - Apr 2021

  Application Cloud Architect / Data Leader

  Responsible for a producing a comprehensive technical specification thatoffers a technical viable solution and address the business requirementDesign and provide guidelines to facilitate projects within the Innovation TeamContinuous business and industry research to guide the critical evaluation of architectural and design patterns & principles.Design and implementation of Cloud applicationsAnalyse the industry and technology to identify technology that can be of value for Capitec Bank.Consult with Business Analysts on functional design handoversApprove and participate in the development of product architecture and design Show less

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  Old Mutual Limited

  Apr 2021 - now

  Enterprise Architect Digital Banking